Reflection Dallas Cowboys vs Tampa Bay Bucs Week 1

Thursday night football brought a very exhilarating game between the Dallas Cowboys vs Tampa Bay Bucs. Week 1 can show what potential a team can bring. It can also show where a team could improve. This is my reflection on the Dallas Cowboys vs Tampa Bay Bucs Week 1. As a Dallas Cowboys fan I will be focusing on their performance.

Dak is BACK!!

This was the first performance we have seen out of Dak Prescott since his ankle injury last season. This injury was a gruesome season ending ankle injury, then in training camp Prescott suffered a shoulder strain. Therefore week 1 was his first game back and many were worried about this but Dak came out to perform. In this game Dak threw 58 passes and completed 42 of these. The completed passes went for 403 yards. Dak also threw 3 TDs and 1 Int. Although this performance back was stellar Dak can not keep up this pace. I worry about him over throwing, and although he says he’s 100% taking it easy on that shoulder will be vital for keeping him around for the season. But, I was impressed and hope he can bounce back to the performance he was having during the 2020 season before injury.

Where is Zeke?

As I mentioned Dak threw A LOT of passes, due to this we saw a decrease in the running game. Multiple times during the game I found myself asking where is Zeke? In fact, it seemed when a big play on the run happened it was Tony Pollard. But, looking up the stats Zeke did have more attempts then RB 2 Pollard. Zeke had 11 rushing attempts for 33 yards, as well as 2 receptions for 6 yards. Where as Pollard had 3 rushing attempts for 14 yards, as well as 4 receptions for 29 yards. The run game as a whole was lower then what we are use to seeing. My theory is due to Zack Martin being out of Covid Protocol they threw more because he knows how to block for the run. The Cowboys offense needs to improve on the running game though regardless who is out or not.

WR’s Productivity

What a game for the Trio of WR’s the Cowboys have! Unfortunately, Gallup suffered a left calf strain that will keep him out for 3 to 5 weeks. This injury saw the increase in the Cooper vs Lamb receptions. Gallup before being injured had 4 receptions for 36 yards which wasn’t bad for a WR 3. But the main story line was Cooper and Lamb. Both had very impressive performances. Lamb had 7 receptions for 104 yards and 1 TD. Cooper led the way for the WR’s though with 13 receptions for 139 yards and 2 TD’s. Having 2 solid go to WR’s is going to be vital for the Cowboys passing game. As for while Gallup is out? Look to Wilson to step up to the role of WR 3, in this game he had 3 receptions for 24 yards. The WR productivity was very solid this week and I hope they can keep it up in future games.

Defense

Good news the Cowboys actually had a defense on the field week 1. The bad news they did still give up 31 points to the Bucs. However, many knew that Tom Brady with his receiving core would come out and score. The part that I did not expect but was pleasantly happy with was the 4 turnovers this defense caused. In the second quarter the defense produced turnovers that allowed for 10 points on the board for the Dallas Cowboys.

The @dallascowboys forced three takeaways in the first half at Tampa Bay, which is the most since Dallas forced three turnovers at Cincinnati on Dec. 13, 2020.

— Dallas Cowboys Public Relations (@DallasCowboysPR) September 10, 2021

Moving forward I am curious to see if the Dan Quinn hire pays off. Can this defense get out of it’s rut from last year and actually put up performances to keep their offense in the game? Week 1 gave me a glimmer of hope on this.

Dallas Cowboys vs Tampa Bay Bucs Summary

Coming into this game I honestly did not see the Cowboys keeping this game close. They were the obvious underdogs, but they showed that they could hang with Tom Brady and company. I was impressed despite coming up short. However, the run game needs to improve, Dak needs to play well but cautious, making sure to spread the ball among the WR options and of course DEFENSE. I am looking forward to what this team can do moving forward. This is just my reflection Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Bucs Week 1… from a Cowboys fan perspective.

Featured Image (Dallasnews.com)

~Josie Averitt (@JosieAve on twitter) 

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